This paper aims to compare the ways in which Christianity and gender roles are addressed in the dialogue collection "Kokoro to Kokoro" (Heart and Heart, 1911) by Japanese author Mushanokōji Saneatsu and in the short story "Margarita" by Colombian writer Soledad Acosta de Samper, which belongs to her novel "El corazón de la mujer" (The Woman's Heart, 1869). While both texts were written in similar periods and share a strong humanistic approach, represented by the element of the human heart present in both titles, cultural and religious differences between both authors lead them to explore Christian morality in fundamentally distinct ways. In Mushanokōji's case, there is evident interest in exploring both Christianity and gender roles; however, he treats them as distinct issues in separate dialogues: Mushanokōji explores forgiveness in "Judas Iscariot After Death" while addressing marriage and the feminine ideal in "A Conversation Between Two Carefree Women." For Soledad Acosta de Samper, an author from a Catholic context and devout in her faith, it is impossible to separate one issue from the other. In "Margarita," the feminine ideal is subordinated to Christian dogma: forgiveness, sin, and the woman's heart are connected and form part of the protagonist's central conflict. This comparative analysis seeks to clarify how each author's context shapes their approach to these social and cultural elements. This study contributes to understanding how cultural positioning influences literary treatment of universal themes.

Authors:
Roxanne Montoya Mahecha, University of Tsukuba, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Montoya Mahecha is currently a PhD. student at Tsukuba University. Her interests center around the relationship between fiction and philosophy, with a recent focus on Japanese and Latin American literature.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxanne-montoya-mahecha-b08066ba/

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